Food waste prevention experts and actors across the food supply chain meet today in Brussels to discuss solutions to prevent food waste at consumer level, both in- and out-of-home. The public event Let's reduce consumer food waste! Solutions from the European Consumer Food Waste Forum is organised by the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and will be web-streamed for all interested stakeholders.
Agenda highlights
The event will start with high level remarks from Prof. Inese Vaidere, Member of the European Parliament, Ms. Claire Bury, Deputy Director-General for Food Sustainability in DG SANTE and Salla Saastamoinen, Deputy Director-General, JRC, setting the stage for a day of insightful discussions. Participants will hear about the role of behavioural science in reducing household food waste from Dr. Sophie Attwood, Senior researcher at the World Resources Institute and there will be a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities to reduce consumer food waste with representatives from EU, national, local levels as well as retail and food services. In the afternoon, there will be parallel sessions for in-depth discussions on public policies to reduce food waste as well as action design and monitoring. Feedback sessions will bring together experts and practitioners to facilitate transfer of knowledge and lessons learned. The event will end with closing remarks by Ms. Joke Schauvliege, Member of the European Committee of the Regions and of the Flemish Parliament.
Launch of new tools:
The event will also mark the launch of the Toolkit to Reduce Consumer Food Waste, a digital resource developed by the Commission, based on the work of the European Consumer Food Waste Forum. This comprehensive toolkit includes:
- Video Tutorials: Practical guides for designing, implementing, and evaluating food waste reduction actions.
- Food Waste Action Planner: Successful actions to serve as an inspiration.
- Food Waste Prevention Calculator: A tool for calculating and communicating the environmental, economic, and nutritional impacts of waste reduction actions.
- Recommendations for Action: Tailored advice for policymakers, businesses, schools, and other organisations.
Background information
The JRC in collaboration with DG SANTE have set up the European Consumer Food Waste Forum project in October 2021. This network of international practitioners and researchers identified a variety of evidence-based, practical solutions to reduce food waste at the consumer level. The result of their work was published as a Compendium of tools, best practices, and recommendations to help all key players engage in actions to prevent food waste.
